RETIRED pensioner Hazel Jones was taken to task after she was caught scribbling anti-Brexit graffiti on the external wall of a school's playground in Wakefield, West Yorkshire to protest the European Union being turned into a "boogeyman".

Pensioner Hazel Jones interrupted her walk around Wakefield, West Yorkshire last week to graffiti a school's playground wall with the sentence 'Brexit is based on lies - reject it'. The former teacher was confronted about her decision to vandalise the wall, with Channel 4 News' Cathy Newman insisted she should be "setting an example" for younger generations. Ms Newman said: "Isn’t the older generation supposed to set an example rather than vandalising the neighbourhood?

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"You are a retired teacher. You just thought, ‘what the hell?’ did you?"

Ms Jones defended her decision claiming she had wanted to protest the "misinformation" which she argued caused Brexit, suggesting the European Union had been turned into a "boogeyman" to influence the population toward leaving the bloc.

The retired teacher said: "There is such an incredible lack of information about the way we use the EU, the way the EU works, the way we benefit from it and such an incredible amount of disinformation leading to people demonising this union of 28 nations working together for the common good.

Brexit news: Jones said the EU has been "demonised" over the years (Image: TWITTER/Carla Petts)

Ms Jones added: "That in itself is bad enough but the fact it has been turned into a boogeyman has meant that people with vested interests have been able to manipulate the population."

The interview later took a disastrous turn when Ms Jones inadvertently pulled out the headphone connecting her to Ms Newman, forcing a technician to intervene to reconnect her.

In the 2016 EU referendum, the Wakefield area voted overwhelmingly in favour of Brexit, with 66.3 percent of voters choosing to leave the European Union on a turnout of over 71 percent.

Boris Johnson pledged to deliver Brexit without delay on October 31 after his predecessor Theresa May agreed to two extensions to the withdrawal process hoping to convince Parliament to back her proposed withdrawal agreement.

Brexit news: Jones accidentally pulled her headphone out and had to be helped mid-interview (Image: CHANNEL 4 NEWS)

Mr Johnson has urged Brussels budge on their refusal to reopen talks on the divorce deal to remove the controversialIrish backstopbut his demands have so far been rejected.

The EU, and Ireland in particular, have been adamant the insurance policy originally devised to avoid the return of a hard border on the island of Ireland in the event of a no deal cannot be removed.

The deadlock in talks with the bloc have heightened the risks of the UK leaving the EU without a formal arrangement and the Treasury last week announced an extra £2.1billion has been added to the no deal contingency plans war chest to help Britons and businesses prepare.

The cash injection will include £1.1billion for immediate spending on extra border guards, stockpiling vital medicines and a massive publicity blitz aimed at households and businesses.

Chancellor Sajid Javid said: “With 92 days until the UK leaves the European Union it’s vital that we intensify our planning to ensure we are ready.

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Brexit news: Boris Johnson had the Treasury set aside an extra £2.1 billion for no deal preparations (Image: EXPRESS.CO.UK)

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"We want to get a good deal that abolishes the anti-democratic backstop.

“But if we can't get a good deal, we'll have to leave without one. This additional £2.1billion will ensure we are ready to leave on 31 October - deal or no deal."

Mr Javid's to loosen Treasury purse-strings will nearly double the funds available for no-deal contingency measures this year to £4.2billion, raising the total the Treasury has made available to prepare for the UK’s departure from the EU to £6.3billion.

Home Office chiefs will be able to recruit an extra 500 Border Force officers with the cash, taking the total new personnel added to the service this year to more than 1,000.